This inaugural event spotlights the 2023-2024 Hindu Muslim Harmony Fellows from universities across the United States, including William & Mary, Drew University, Fordham University, Columbia University, and the University of Illinois-Chicago. These young individuals will share their unique experiences in fostering interfaith harmony and understanding on their campuses.

The event

All those who attend will be treated to engaging presentations that highlight the role of young leaders in building interfaith communities. The event offers an opportunity for learning, networking, and enjoying a shared meal, underlining the unity and diversity present within our communities.

In today’s world, where conflict, and division often dominate headlines, the unique role of interfaith dialogue becomes ever more crucial.

The current global and national climate, marked by heightened tensions and misunderstandings among different religious and cultural groups, further underscores the need for initiatives like this fellowship. By bringing together diverse voices and perspectives, the Hindu Muslim Harmony Fellowship aims to counteract polarisation and foster a sense of unity and mutual respect.

This gathering is seen as a powerful statement against the backdrop of global unrest. It demonstrates that through understanding and cooperation, we can build bridges of harmony and peace in our communities, setting a precedent for a more tolerant and inclusive world. The insights and experiences shared by the Hindu Muslim Harmony Fellows serves as a beacon of hope, showing that when we come together, dialogue can transform the narrative from conflict to collaboration, and from isolation to shared human experiences.

The organisers have reached out to all who are interested in interfaith dialogue and community engagement to join us for this free event. It’s not just a gathering but a celebration of the rich tapestry of faiths that enrich our society.

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Here is the statement of solidarity with the women of South Asia:

“Navaratri, or Durga Puja, is the Hindu festival celebrating the goddess Durga, the goddess of strength and protection. HHR dedicates these nine nights to Mother Durga and her nine forms: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri. Each form of Durga represents the strength and power of the divine feminine, reflected in the strength and power of the women of the world. The organisation honours Durga and pray for the victory of good over evil in our world.”

Invoking Durga in the work for equality, justice, liberation, and human rights, the HHR states that this Navaratri, they wish to highlight the courage of women human rights defenders around the world and stand in solidarity with the women of South Asia, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh to Nepal, Sri Lanka and India – women who are fighting for their rights and the rights of others, as their governments and other actors attempt to silence them into complacency.

From India’s Olympic women wrestlers fighting to bring attention to the sexual harassment they faced from the head of the Wrestling Federation of India and BJP Member of Parliament, the women of Manipur protesting the ethnic conflict in India’s easternmost state, the pro-democracy women fighting Hindutva in India, the women in Pakistan fighting for women’s rights, to the women and girls fighting for education and economic rights in Afghanistan, the women fighting for gender equality and refugee rights in Bangladesh, and the women of Iran who, for over a year have been protesting the brutal regime’s crackdown on their rights, these women serve as an inspiration to all.

In a statement issued today, HHR states that as the world sees an increase in the suppression of free speech, free press, and the rights of minoritised groups all around the world, women are leading the revolution for equality, justice, and liberation. Their spirit and sacrifices, and extend to them and their movements our unwavering solidarity.

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In the early hours of Saturday, October 14, HHR learnt that X had “withheld” their Twitter account in India, “in response to a legal demand,” presumably by the Government of India (GOI). An ally of the group, the Indian American Muslim Council’s Twitter account has also been “withheld” similarly.

Incidentally, there was no prior intimation by X. Hindus for Human Rights (HHR) an advocacy and activist group of American Indians states that it has no idea why their account has been suspended but conjectures that any “movement of progressive Hindus and their supporters is speaking up to save Indian democracy”.

The public statement issued by HHR also flags what it states as being a “ coordinated plan of transnational repression by the Modi government, assisted by their eager partners in the diaspora” and adds that “this action against HHR and IAMC (and others) may well represent the beginning of a massive clamp down of anti-Modi voices prior to the 2024 elections in India.”

It may be recalled that the same group, HHR, has faced the first step when a SLAPP lawsuit (civil suit for defamation) was brought against them by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) in May 2021 against its co-founders. The case was dismissed.

Thereafter, there was incessant trolling of the organisation following the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference in September 2021, in which many had participated as practicing Hindus. HHR had responded and debunked the narrative that the conference was Hinduphobic.

Following the Rahul Gandhi visit to the United States in May 2023, HHR faced another onslaught with a Union Minister in the Modi cabinet, claiming on national TV that there was a “conspiracy among Rahul Gandhi, George Soro, and HHR’s co-founder Sunita to destroy India”. When this powerfully motivated slur failed to gain traction, this silencing of the voice of outward looking Hindus based in the United States has been attempted. The suspension of the ‘X’ (formerly twitter) account in India.

The statement issued by HHR states that they, as progressive Hindus, are speaking out against the danger of Hindutva ideology and the Modi government’s anti-minority actions, which run counter to the basic values of Hinduism. They affirm that they will not be silenced or stopped.

Like “a river” that “flows on in spite of boulders in the way, finding its way around”, as long as “people like Umar Khalid, Teesta Setalvad, Harsh Mander, Arundhati Roy, Newsclick, Amnesty India ….. as long as brave defenders of Indian democracy are continuing to fight, HHR will stand with them.”

HHR has called the current struggle as the “second freedom struggle for India”, nothing less.

The statement ends with a statement from HHR co-founder Raju Rajagopal, about Modi, Biden, and Human Rights through the lens of the Bhagavad Gita: “The action undertaken from delusion, without regard to capacity and to consequences – loss and injury to others – that is declared to be dark [vikarma].” (XVIII-25)

The statement may be read in its entirely here:

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In a global storm of censorship, Hindus for Human Rights, IAMC and journalists accounts have been suspended

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In what seems to be a recent step emerging from a global pattern, Elon Musk’s X has seemingly muzzled the voices of journalists and organisations that argue for peace and human rights by suspending their X accounts. This move has cast a dark shadow on freedom of expression and a free and fair press for Indian citizens. The affected accounts included those of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR). They are reportedly withheld in response a “legal demand” – allegedly by the Indian government. It is important to note a member of the HfHR was present as a recent United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hearing took place on October, 3 2023. The hearing was held due to concerns of violence against Muslims in Christians, and other religious minorities, in India have grown. The commission sought to provide recommendations for policy measures to the US state department as the hearing was held after two important bilateral meetings that took place between the country’s top leaders, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden.

pic.twitter.com/RpJQ883vPp

— Aakar Patel (@Aakar__Patel) October 16, 2023

Similarly, Meer Faisal, a prominent reporter known for his extensive coverage of hate crimes in the country, found that his X account was “withheld” within the boundaries of India, reportedly at the request of the Union government, according to Maktoob Media. The message displayed on his account explained that this action, once again, was taken “in response to a legal demand,” although there is no clarification by X as to what or why this move was taken, the journalist expressed his shock at the sudden restriction of his account to Maktoob, stating, “I hadn’t been active for a few days, and when I opened the app to tweet, I realised it had been withheld.” For Meer Faisal, this was not just about losing access to a social media platform, but that it was a significant blow to press freedom.

He asserted further stating, “Withholding an account or censoring a journalist’s work constitutes a violation of press freedom,” highlighting the gravity of the situation.” Describing further the situation, “I believe my account was withheld due to the stories where I speak about the rights of Muslims and marginalised communities. I can’t recall any specific story that justifies this level of suppression of expression.”

However, India is not the only place where issues of censorship, danger to a free press and journalism are looming large. At least 12 journalists have been killed, and eight wounded in the initial eight days of the Israel-Hamas war, according to media reports. As we speak, there are reports emerging that the Israeli cabinet is set to discuss a proposal to ban Al Jazeera’s coverage in Israel. Al Jazeera is a global media channel that has been reporting on ground from Gaza since the day the war was declared.

Another alarming development is the heavy-handed approach of tech giants like Meta and X in censoring content related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Al Jazeera Arabic presenter Tamer Almisshal had his Facebook profile deleted just 24 hours after airing a program that ironically was slated to examine Meta’s censorship of Palestinian content. The investigative report by Almisshal delved into the disparities in how Palestinian and Israeli posts are treated by Facebook. The report had been touted to include admissions by Eric Barbing, who is former head of Israel’s cybersecurity apparatus, about efforts to track Palestinian content based on criteria as benign as “liking” a photo of a Palestinian killed by Israeli forces.

In a similar vein, social media users who post about pro-Palestinian sentiments are asserting that they are experiencing a sharp crackdown on their content in the wake of the intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Such accounts have been reportedly suspended or banned on platforms like TikTok etc. Another example is of Mondoweiss which was a news and analysis account dedicated to Palestine, which has reported that its TikTok account had been temporarily taken down. Moreover, several Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, users have also voiced their concerns about content restrictions and the inability to go on livestream. One London-based user requested anonymity for fear of harassment revealed that her Instagram stories related to Palestine received extremely low viewership. It was only when she posted a picture of a skirt that her viewership went high again.

As governments and tech giants worldwide bring their fist down on how to handle information as well as misinformation about the Israel-Palestine conflict and its digital footprint, it is evident that the silencing of voices has found its way across the globe. From BJP governments’ steps tackling voices that speak for peace to the international stage of the Middle East, the battle for free speech in the digital age has entered a new, complex phase that will seemingly define the status and safety of free speech and undeterred journalism for decades and generations to come.

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Quoting the 2019 words of Anantanand Rambachan, a scholar of Advaita Vedanta, who wrote: “The rise of populist nationalism, and especially those versions that clothe themselves in religious colours, requires a critique from the same religious traditions.”

Staff from Hindus for Human Rights, embarked on a prema yatra, a pilgrimage of love, to seek out Hindu religious leaders who were concerned about the state of affairs in India. They found that many leaders were deeply worried about the situation and spoke up against Hindu nationalism in explicitly religious terms.

However, they also encountered pervasive feelings of victimhood and resentment among Indian Hindus, linked to a demonisation of India’s Muslim minority. The report documents these conversations in-depth and uncovers the reasons for hope that religious diversity remains at the heart of what it means to be Hindu.

The Report may be read here: https://www.hindusforhumanrights.org/prema-yatra-report

Throughout history, there have been moments in which religious leaders have spoken out against hate and violence originating from within their own religious traditions – sometimes risking their lives in the process state the authors of the report.

In Nazi Germany, there was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and theologian who belonged to Germany’s largest Protestant denomination. Bonhoeffer was outspoken against the Nazi regime’s takeover of his religious tradition and its persecution of Jews, and was eventually imprisoned and executed in 1945. In the United States in the 1960s, there was James Reeb, a white Unitarian Universalist minister and civil rights activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and was murdered at the age of 38 by white racists.

In the context of modern India, there was Mahant Lal Das, the chief priest of Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi temple and a strident opponent of Hindu nationalist groups such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He was mysteriously murdered in 1993. Most recently, there was Agnivesh (1939-2020), an outspoken critic of Hindu nationalism and caste who fought for the rights of many marginalised communities in India and was physically attacked by Hindu nationalist mobs on several occasions.

The rise of religious nationalism has led to an urgent need for religious traditions to critique themselves. In the past, there have been religious leaders who spoke out against hate and violence emanating from their own religions, but few of such leaders are present today. Hindu nationalism has taken root in India, and religious leaders are promoting this ideology instead of denouncing it.

But what about today?

“In Hindus for Human Rights, a US-based organisation, we have often asked ourselves this question: among India’s nearly one billion Hindus, where are the voices of fearless religious leaders such as those of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, James Reeb, Baba Lal Das, and Swami Agnivesh?

“From the calls for genocide issued at the Haridwar “dharam sansad” in 2021 to the bigoted statements of spiritual leaders like Sadhguru and Ravi Shankar, India’s Hindu religious leaders and institutions seem to have, en masse, largely agreed to promote the political ideology of Hindu nationalism. Last year, we published a statement condemning Hindu nationalism and Islamophobia, signed by dozens of Hindu religious leaders and temples across the diaspora. Very few Hindu religious leaders in India agreed to endorse the statement.

“My colleague Sunita Viswanath and myself decided to investigate this for ourselves. In February and March, we embarked on a prema yatra – a pilgrimage of love – searching for Hindu religious leaders who were concerned about the state of affairs in India today.

“What we found, as summarised in our newly-released report, was both deeply concerning, but also incredibly inspiring.

A journey long

“In our yatra, we traveled across nine Indian states, visiting 12 cities and several villages, where we met nearly 30 Hindu religious leaders who had been recommended to us by our partner organisations and contacts. We visited major pilgrimage sites, such as Haridwar, Varanasi, and Ayodhya, as well as major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram.

“This yatra was difficult for many reasons. In our conversations, we encountered a pervasive sense of victimhood or resentment among Indian Hindus, deeply intertwined with hatred towards India’s Muslim minority. In fact, throughout our trip, we saw the extent to which Indian Muslims have been dehumanised in the minds of many Indian Hindus and their religious leaders.

“One swami we met insisted that Indian Hindus face much more discrimination than Indian Muslims and Christians. Descriptions of Indian Muslims as insular, violent, and hostile were repeated by other religious leaders. Another swami we met in Uttar Pradesh declared that Muslims do not know the concept of humanity (insaniyat in Hindi) and are intent on converting all Hindus.

“And yet, we also found many reasons for hope. We ended up meeting many religious leaders across the country who were deeply worried about the state of affairs in India today.

“Some of these leaders grounded their opposition to Hindu nationalism in explicitly religious terms. For example, a temple priest in Varanasi told us that his idea of dharma is inseparable from humanity (manavta), which is the opposite of Hindu nationalism. A leader of a math or monastic institution spoke about being inspired by bhakti poet-saints, who spoke up for the rights of marginalised communities. One swami in Haryana simply stated to us, “India has never had only one religion. This is a pluralistic land.” To this swami, religious diversity was at the heart of what it means to be Indian.

“Many Hindu religious leaders we met are opposed to the ways that Hindu nationalists are trying to stop age-old religious traditions and reshape Hindu sacred sites. Several priests and mahants in Varanasi were deeply upset by the renovations that the Bharatiya Janata Party government executed in the city in order to transform Varanasi into a global tourist destination. While traveling in Karnataka, we learned about the ways in which some temples have pushed back against Hindu nationalist groups who have called for Muslim vendors to be excluded from temple festivals.

“We also encountered a pervasive sense of fear among the Hindu religious leaders we met. Some of the Hindu religious leaders we met have already faced violence from Hindutva supporters. In some cases, outspoken religious leaders have faced accusations of being Naxalities or Maoists. These leaders, and others, are reluctant to put their ashrams, temples, or devotees at additional risk. They also feel a deep sense of loneliness and isolation – until now, they have lacked a network of like-minded peers.

“Despite this, some of these leaders are committed to fighting, and raising their voices even more now. One swami told us very bluntly: “If I surrender to the RSS, there is no life.”

“In today’s India, calls for violence against religious minorities are undoubtedly terrifying. But what is more dangerous is the near-absolute silence of the Hindu majority. Hindu nationalism may be the dominant expression of Hindu identity today, but it doesn’t have to be this way. The Hindu religious leaders we met on our prema yatra showed us that there is another path forward: grounded in shanti (peace), nyaya (justice) satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-injury).

A version of the piece first appeared on Religion News Service.

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Hindus For Human Rights (HFHR), a US-based peace organisation of eminent Hindu-American citizens, mostly of Indian origin, has urged their fellow citizens to stay inclusive citing how the the world’s two largest democracies are going through unprecedented challenges in these times. HFHR said that it is absolutely vital that those who care for democracy, keep themselves informed about where our two countries are headed.

Co-founder Raju Rajagopal put up a detailed video, ahead of the US elections, to educate other Indian origin Americans on how right-wing ideologies threaten harmony. “The world must recognize and acknowledge facism before it is too late,” the presentation begins with a timely warning. Rajagopal goes on to give Indian-Americans, many of whom openly attend fan-fests for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and are big donors to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even though they do not vote for him in India. The same groups also support Donald Trump and draw parallels between the two politicians.

Rajagopal’s presentation gives a refresher course in the history of common ideologies practiced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) idea of ‘nationalism’ and that of similar regimes in Europe. Quoting VD Savarkar’s words that drew parallels of Hindu Nationalism and America’s ‘White Nationalism’. The difference says the organisation is “that while White nationalists have been associated with violence here, Hindu nationalists from the U.S. fund and/or cheer on their compatriots in India who are indulging in large-scale violence.”

He speaks about the Hindu Nationalism and Trump Nationalism that was strengthened in the 2019 Modi-Trump gala and warns that there are candidates in the current US elections who have been backed by Hindutva outfits. “It is particularly important at this juncture that Americans, including our lawmakers, get a sense of how dire the ground situation in India is, especially for the minorities, as compared to where we are,” he states in an opening note. 

Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) is a U.S.-based advocacy organisation that works on issues of  multi-religious pluralism in the United States. They state their vision as “lokasangraha (universal common good)” and state they support an egalitarian and inclusive Hinduism and prioritise dialogue as a means of understanding and community-building, and advocacy. “We educate elected officials and people’s movements in the U.S. about the situation in India, as well as adding a Hindu voice of resistance to human rights violations occurring across the globe,” it states.

The latest 45-minute video methodically reviews the recent socio-political developments in India “through the prism of fascism in Europe. It concludes that the Modi/Shah government scores 100% on all early signs of fascism, as enumerated by Lawrence Britt and as seen at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.”

The advocacy organisation has also talked about the Citizenship Amendment Act, and how it is being showcased incorrectly to US lawmakers. The video tutorial has appealed “to all Americans to call on their lawmakers in D.C. to reject Hindu nationalist politics in this country, just as we would urge them to reject White nationalism.” It has appealed to the Democratic Party “not to provide a home for Indian-American or other lawmakers who are being supported by Hindu nationalists from the U.S. or from India.”

The Video may be viewed here:

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